Chapter 29
The trail twisted through the dank forest. Helena missed the open, expansive landscape of the valley and the muscular movement of the river. The woodland felt claustrophobic, trees swallowing the view and light.
She was trying to ignore the pain in her heels, which was difficult when she could feel the damp leak of her blisters against her socks.
Everything was irritating her, like the bob of Liz’s ponytail as she walked—it looked so damn perky, keeping pace with her busy strides. Or Joni’s light humming as she sang to herself, lost in her own lyrical thoughts.
Helena’s thoughts were tightly knotted around the pregnancy. She wondered if it was crazy of her to have gone ahead with the hike. Exhaustion was real. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could walk for—and the hardest days on the trail were still to come.
The sight of Maggie struggling would cheer her, she decided, turning. That was exactly the sort of sick friend she was: she liked her misery to be kept company.
She turned, scanned the landscape.
The track behind Helena was empty.
She waited a moment, peering harder through the cluster of trees.
No Maggie.
She put her hands on her hips. “Mags?”
When there was no response, she called to the others. “Hey, wait! Where’s Maggie?”
Joni stopped singing and turned. Liz, too. They both eyed the empty track. She watched their faces, expecting someone to say, She overtook us—she’s just up there.
“We’ll be walking until dark at this pace,” Liz said, swatting at a mosquito.
They waited for a minute.
Then another.
Joni let her pack slump to the ground.
Liz checked her watch.
Helena eyed the empty path, a beat of unease stirring.
Three minutes, then four.
“Maggie?” she called.
No answer.
A small frown line had appeared between Liz’s brows. “When was the last time anyone saw her?”
Joni stared into the woods. “Not since we stopped for water.”
“Same,” Helena admitted. She’d been so preoccupied with her own problems that she hadn’t glanced back to check.
Liz’s forehead creased. “But that was ages ago. Forty minutes. Maybe more. Why didn’t you check?”
The admonishment made her bite. “If you hadn’t been striding ahead, Maggie would have had a chance to catch up!”
“So it’s my fault?” Liz snapped.
“It’s no one’s fault,” Joni said. “She’s probably just around the corner.”
“I’m going to look for her,” Helena said.
Liz called after her. “We should all stick together.”
“So come!”
“Let’s just think about this for a moment,” Liz said, catching up with Helena. “What would you do if you’d come off the path?”
“Stay where I was,” Helena said instinctively. “Wait for someone to come.”
“I wouldn’t,” Joni said. “No way would I stay put in a creepy wood all on my own. I’d try and find a way out.”
Liz asked, “But what would Maggie do?”
Helena thought for a moment. “She’d shout for us.”